Coinbase has announced securing a restricted dealer license in Canada, marking a significant milestone for the U.S.-based exchange. This makes Coinbase the first and largest international cryptocurrency exchange to be registered in the country.

Having officially launched in Canada nearly eight months ago, Coinbase’s latest announcement of securing registration as a restricted dealer underscores its commitment to expanding its presence in global markets outside the United States. This move aligns with Coinbase’s strategy amidst challenges it has faced in its home market, including regulatory scrutiny from the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Expressing enthusiasm about obtaining the restricted dealer license, Coinbase highlighted its collaboration with Canadian banks, investment advisors, and pension funds. The company emphasized its dedication to facilitating the successful navigation of the evolving digital asset landscape for these entities.

Coinbase’s efforts in Canada have been bolstered by the appointment of a country director approximately a year ago. Additionally, the exchange cited a study it contributed to, revealing that nearly one-third of Canadians would be more inclined to purchase cryptocurrency if there were more regulatory measures in place.

As of late last year, WonderFi held control over almost half of all regulated exchanges operating in Canada, reflecting the growing interest and participation in the cryptocurrency market within the country.

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Bitcoin Cash witnessed a significant surge, jumping over 10% in value after the completion of its blockchain’s halving process. The digital currency has been steadily climbing since the beginning of the year, with a notable 23% increase over the past week and an impressive 43% surge in the last month, as reported by CryptoSlate.

At the time of reporting, BCH was trading at $673, marking its highest level since May 2021. Market analysts attribute this surge to various factors, including the recent halving event and the prevailing bullish market sentiment.

Bitcoin Cash Halving

Bitcoin Cash, a proof-of-work blockchain network that forked from Bitcoin in 2017, aims to facilitate faster and cheaper transactions but has seen limited adoption in the crypto community. The recent halving, occurring at block height 840,000, reduced miner rewards from 6.25 BCH to 3.125 BCH per block.

Following the halving, Bitcoin Unlimited data indicates that the network has confirmed 840,017 blocks, with approximately 17 blocks validated since the event. Moreover, OKLink data shows a spike in BCH’s network mining difficulty to its highest level since 2019 at 761,589.2, while miner rewards have decreased from an average of 0.0003 to 0.00017 at the time of reporting.

Potential Implications for Bitcoin

Market experts view Bitcoin Cash’s halving as a potential precursor to Bitcoin’s upcoming halving, scheduled for April 20. During this event, Bitcoin’s miner block rewards will be halved from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC.

Notably, industry players such as asset management firm Grayscale and Hut 8 Mining CEO Asher Genoot have highlighted the significant impact this upcoming halving event may have on the broader cryptocurrency landscape.

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Binance, a prominent cryptocurrency exchange, has announced its decision to discontinue support for Bitcoin non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on its marketplace by April 18, as stated in an April 4 announcement.

Effective April 18, users will no longer have the option to buy, deposit, bid on, or list NFTs on the Binance NFT Marketplace via the Bitcoin network, according to the exchange. Additionally, all impacted listing orders will be automatically canceled at 06:00 (UTC) on April 18. Furthermore, support for airdrops, benefits, or other utilities associated with the Bitcoin NFTs will cease by April 10.

The move comes less than a year after Binance initially enabled support for these digital assets and is attributed to the exchange’s ongoing efforts to streamline its product offerings within the NFT marketplace. However, Binance did not provide details regarding whether trading volumes or user demand influenced the decision.

Although the NFT marketplace enjoyed early success, particularly due to its association with the exchange and public figures like Cristiano Ronaldo, it has faced challenges in garnering significant adoption compared to competitors like Blur.

Binance is also contending with regulatory hurdles in various jurisdictions, including a record fine of over $4 billion in the United States and a cessation of operations within the country. Consequently, the exchange has been reassessing its operational approach, including the appointment of a seven-member board of directors led by Gabriel Abed, the former ambassador of Barbados to the UAE.

Despite Binance’s decision to end support for Bitcoin NFTs, the broader market for Bitcoin-based NFTs continues to thrive. Innovations within Bitcoin’s ecosystem, including Ordinals (Bitcoin NFTs), new fungible tokens standards like BRC-20 and Runes, Bitcoin Layer 2s, and other Bitcoin DeFi primitives, have contributed to this growth. Data from CryptoSlam indicates that Bitcoin NFT sales amounted to $6.37 million within the past 24 hours, marking the second-highest figure in the industry.

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Google has initiated legal proceedings against a group of individuals accused of orchestrating a scheme to defraud over 100,000 people worldwide through counterfeit cryptocurrency apps distributed on its Google Play store. The lawsuit, filed in the Southern District of New York on April 4, reflects Google’s commitment to combatting crypto scams and establishing legal safeguards for user protection.

The defendants, identified as Yunfeng Sun and Hongnam Cheung, allegedly operated a fraudulent operation by uploading at least 87 fake investment and crypto exchange apps on Google Play. These individuals purportedly provided false information about their identities, locations, and the nature of their apps.

Halimah DeLaine Prado, Google’s general counsel, underscored the significance of the lawsuit in addressing crypto fraud, which has inflicted significant losses in the US. Google aims to leverage its resources to safeguard users and deter fraudulent activities.

The legal action utilizes civil claims under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, alongside breach of contract claims. The lawsuit outlines the defendants’ methods to attract users, including text messaging campaigns, online videos, and affiliate marketing.

Despite the counterfeit apps’ appearance of legitimacy, users allegedly encountered difficulties withdrawing their funds, with some being misled into paying additional fees to access earnings. The accused scammers attempted to legitimize their apps by facilitating small initial withdrawals and publishing news releases, but users encountered obstacles when attempting to retrieve larger investments.

Google has responded to these deceptive practices by bolstering its cybersecurity measures, forming partnerships with law enforcement, and establishing a dedicated team to identify fraud. The company claims damages exceeding $75,000 due to investigative and safety enhancement costs.

Through the lawsuit, Google seeks damages and a permanent injunction barring the defendants and their affiliates from accessing Google services or creating accounts. This legal action forms part of Google’s broader strategy to protect users and uphold platform integrity amidst rising online scams and cybersecurity threats.

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The Bank for International Settlements (BIS), known as the central bank for central banks, has unveiled Project Agorá, an initiative aimed at delving deeper into blockchain technology to enhance the monetary system.

Hyun Song Shin, BIS Economic Adviser and Head of Research highlighted the potential of tokenization, stating, “Tokenization combines the record-keeping function of a traditional database with the rules and logic that govern transfers.” Project Agorá aims to leverage tokenization to improve existing capabilities and introduce new functionalities to the monetary system while upholding its core principles.

The project boasts collaboration from leading central banks including the Bank of France, Bank of Japan, Bank of Korea, Bank of Mexico, Swiss National Bank, Bank of England, and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Together with a consortium of private financial firms convened by the Institute of International Finance (IIF), they will explore the seamless integration of tokenized commercial bank deposits with tokenized wholesale central bank money within a “public-private programmable core financial platform.”

The envisioned infrastructure holds promise for enhancing the monetary system and unlocking new possibilities through smart contracts and programmability. By overcoming structural inefficiencies, especially in cross-border payments, the initiative seeks to streamline operations and improve efficiency.

Cecilia Skingsley, Head of the BIS Innovation Hub, emphasized the project’s goal of creating a common payment infrastructure that brings together various elements of the financial system for improved efficiency.

The collaborative effort will involve testing the technology within the operational, regulatory, and legal frameworks of participating currencies, along with financial companies operating in those jurisdictions. Additionally, the project aims to address challenges related to financial integrity controls, such as anti-money laundering measures and customer verification.

Project Agorá represents the BIS Innovation Hub’s experimental approach to exploring and delivering public goods to the global central banking community. Moving forward, the BIS plans to invite regulated financial institutions to join the project, aiming to include several institutions representing each of the seven participating currencies. Specific instructions and requirements for interested parties will be provided in due course.

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